Bell: No pipeline, no more carbon tax hikes?

Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office, speaks at the Alberta Energy Efficiency Alliance Conference, at the Matrix Hotel, 10640 100 Ave., in Edmonton Tuesday Jan. 17, 2017. Photo by David Bloom

We see it in black and white in the Alberta government print ad running in B.C. newspapers.

Not getting this Ottawa-approved pipeline expansion to the west coast could put an end to the national climate plan.

Trudeau’s climate plan. The climate plan Premier Notley backs. The climate plan saying the current carbon tax you pay will be hiked in 2021 and hiked again in 2022 — and God knows what hikes from there.

Alberta introduced Canada’s strongest carbon pricing. Alberta is phasing out coal, the source of most of the electricity. The federal government recognized this when giving the green-light for the pipeline expansion to the coast.

This is what the Alberta government print ad says.

But we’re now having this fight with the B.C. NDP government who want to rag the puck on this pipeline expansion, delay its construction, consult some more with British Columbians even though the project has been given the go.

And Shannon Phillips, Notley’s minister of the environment, says in the next 24 to 48 hours the province could retaliate against B.C., as they did with the B.C wine ban. She says this in a luncheon with Calgary suits on Wednesday in Calgary.

The clock ticks. The Notley government is in a holding pattern.

Days ago, Notley said she’d give days, not weeks, for B.C. to stand down.

“We’re coming to the end of those days,” says Phillips, adding “our patience won’t last forever.”

Again, 24 to 48 hours.

“There’s a lot at stake here. There have to be consequences.”

When Phillips speaks this line to the Calgary business crowd, it is the only time they applaud during her speech.

But Phillips, who is a member of the group deciding what to do next with the B.C. government, goes further oh so cautiously.

She says it would difficult to hike the carbon tax in 2021 as Trudeau wants and hike it again in 2022 without having that pipeline expansion to the coast. No kidding.

Without that pipeline Alberta would be giving up tons of cash, both the oilpatch and the provincial government in royalties destined for the public treasury to be spent on stuff.

“This is important for the B.C. environment minister to keep in mind as he moves forward with proposals designed to play games with Alberta’s economy,” says Phillips.

“We need to be able to recover our economy in order to be responsible stewards of the environment.”

“We need to be able to reinvest, to diversify the economy.”

B.C. is never far from the thoughts of this environment minister. Safe to say, Phillips is clearly steamed.

After all, look at it from her point of view. The Notley NDP bring in this plan. They catch all kinds of grief, starting with the carbon tax, rebates or no rebates, free lightbulbs or no free lightbulbs. They’re also slammed because they didn’t campaign on the carbon tax.

But they have the prime minister say their plan made the pipeline expansion approval possible … and guess what? The B.C. government, the B.C. NDP government stands in the way.

There is a pipeline approval on paper and, at press time, a war in reality.

Question for Phillips. How hard would it be to sell Albertans on increases to the carbon tax if the pipeline expansion wasn’t built?

Damn near impossible, I say.

After all, the United Conservatives are breathing down the Notley NDP’s collective neck or … er … ahead of them in the polls.

They want to scrap the carbon tax — lock, stock and barrel.

After the Energy East pipeline bit the dust the United Conservatives urged Notley not to bring in her own carbon tax increase this year. She didn’t listen.

No pipeline, no carbon tax would be the minimum many would want.

Phillips says the discussion is all “hypothetical” right now.

The minister of all things Mother Earth says Albertans expect the government to stand up for the pipeline expansion — and they are and they will.

But Phillips says Albertans also care about the environment and think climate change is real.

The NDP politician returns to politically safe ground — the battlefield and the hours ahead.

“I think it’s fair to say we’re not going to stand for the province of British Columbia taking a run at us. It’s just not on.”

“I don’t know how strategic it is for the province of British Columbia to double down on an proposal that is unconstitutional and hurts working people across the country.”

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